A political ‘bomb’ exploded in the hands of PM George Papandreou Tuesday afternoon as Giorgos Lianis, MP of the governing party PASOK, submitted his resignation over the IMF/EU ‘Mid-Term Stability Programme”; also known in Greece as “the 2nd. Memorandum”. Lianis, a lawmaker for 22 years, explained his decision saying in a written statement that “it is a matter of conscience, I do not believe we follow the right economic policy”. The lawmaker who had voted for the Fist Memorandum in 2010, stressed he will remain as independent deputy. That means that he won’t hand out his parliament- seat to governing party.
With the resignation of Lianis, PASOK’s seats fall into 155. Another PASOK-MP had declared, he won’t vote for the Memorandum.
It remains to be seen whether Lianis’s resignation is only the beginning of a series of resignations from the governing party members of the parliament over the new austerity package. PASOK need 151 votes to pass the law through the Parliament.
Lianis is cousin of the second wife of Andreas Papandreou, former PM, PASOK founder and father of Prime Minister, George Papandreou.
I am reading that Papandreou has requested a meeting with the president tomorrow… any info on that one?
yes, he will ask another leaders’ meeting to seek consensus. I wanted to post about it as well but I’m ‘dead’. so many things happened today. I’ll do it tomorrow.
That’s a very positive thing.
Somebody owns shame in the Parliament
“Lianis is cousin of the second wife of Andreas Papandreou, former PM, PASOK founder and father of Prime Minister, George Papandreou.”
But I fear it’s true that things are in Greece are always made in family.
N17 were right on this